NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    More
    In the news
    Mukesh Ambani
    WhatsApp
    Reliance Jio
    OPPO
    Vivo
    Sensex
    Bitcoin
    NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    NewsBytes
    User Placeholder

    Hi,

    Logout


    India Business World Politics Sports Technology Entertainment Auto Lifestyle Inspirational Career Bengaluru Delhi Mumbai Visual Stories Find Cricket Statistics Phones Reviews Fitness Bands Reviews Speakers Reviews

    Download Android App

    Follow us on
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
     
    Home / News / Business News / Why India is blocking JUUL, the popular fruity-flavored nicotine vape
    Business

    Why India is blocking JUUL, the popular fruity-flavored nicotine vape

    Why India is blocking JUUL, the popular fruity-flavored nicotine vape
    Written by Siddhant Pandey
    Aug 30, 2019, 11:45 am 5 min read
    Why India is blocking JUUL, the popular fruity-flavored nicotine vape

    Recently, India's Health Ministry proposed a ban on the production and import of electronic cigarettes, citing health hazards. The Ministry is taking this rather seriously and proposed a jail term of up to three years and a fine up to Rs. 5L for repeat offenders. The proposed ban is likely to hit JUUL Labs, a leading e-cigarette company, hard. And it's about time something did.

    In 4 years of existence, JUUL fueled teen nicotine addiction

    Founded in 2015, United States-based JUUL Labs Inc. has "revolutionized" vaping. With its sleek USB-drive design and easy-to-use pods, it has become a sensation in the US, especially among teenagers. And why wouldn't it? It looks cool and it doesn't produce a massive plume of vapor unlike other e-cigarettes, so it's pretty discreet. But with JUUL's popularity, teen nicotine addiction is on the rise.

    JUUL was planning to launch in India; had hired executives

    According to Reuters, JUUL Labs was looking forward to a launch in India, and had already hired several senior executives in recent months. Another American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, Philip Morris, was also planning to launch its heat-not-burn smoking devices in India.

    One JUUL pod is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes

    Now, vaping has always been perceived as more benign than smoking conventional cigarettes. As per JUUL's website, each 5% pod contains 40mg of nicotine (59mg/mL) while the 3% pods contain 23mg (35mg/mL). Separately, according to The New England Journal of Medicine, each 5% pod is equivalent to smoking 20 combustible cigarettes. Granted regular cigarettes have a greater variety of toxins, e-cigarettes aren't entirely innocent.

    Nicotine associated with mental illnesses, increased heart disease risk

    Although there has been no study focusing specifically on JUUL, certain studies conducted on various e-cigarette brands have discovered the presence of known carcinogens. Regardless, JUUL's nicotine content is enough to get someone addicted, and users can experience withdrawal symptoms (cravings, anxiety, irritability) if they don't keep smoking/vaping. Additionally, nicotine is also associated with mental illnesses, increased risk of heart disease, lung spasms, etc.

    JUUL increasingly becoming popular with middle and high schoolers

    For teenagers and kids, especially, nicotine is known to affect brain development, which make them susceptible to lifelong complications. Yet, middle school and high school students are increasingly using e-cigarettes, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.

    To understand why that is, let's look at JUUL's advertising

    Now, let's talk about JUUL and its deadly strategy. A 2019 Stanford study investigated JUUL's advertising strategy between 2015-2018. The study noted that JUUL advertised its products on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and the "advertising prominently featured sweet and fruity flavors." Initially, JUUL got influencers to try out free samples and popularize the product. In fact, in 2015, JUUL chose Vice (the youth-media company) to launch its campaign.

    JUUL's 'Vaporized' campaign featured 20-something models partying

    Addressing the 'Vaporized' campaign, the study stated that the "targeting of youthful consumers was evident." Furthermore, most of their ads had vivid themes of romance and socialization, and featured happy 20-something models in partying. Yet, JUUL claimed that its target demographic was "adult smokers."

    JUUL later launched anti-underage use campaigns. Too little, too late?

    Despite the imagery, JUUL maintained their aim was to get adult smokers to "make the switch" to their less harmful vape, and launched campaigns to "combat underage use." In November, JUUL deleted its Facebook and Instagram, and started taming content on YouTube and Twitter. But JUUL's advertising had taken a life of its own. Young celebrities, influencers and memes were already talking about it.

    JUUL also restricted sale of flavored pods

    JUUL also stopped selling select flavored pods at retail stores, restricting sales to their website, which comes with a caveat, discouraging users under the age of 21 to purchase their products with a pop-up. But we all know how effective that really is.

    In 2018, 3.6 million middle and high schoolers used JUUL

    All this course correction is rather futile, though. JUUL products now represent 75% of e-cigarette sales at retail outlets and convenience stores. The company is valued at $38 billion. In 2018, the CDC estimated that around 3.6 million middle school and high school students were using e-cigarettes. With JUUL's anti-underage use campaigns evidently failing, several teens have sued the company after getting addicted.

    47% youth started using JUUL because of friends

    Additionally, National Youth Tobacco Survey data revealed that one in five high schoolers is hooked on to JUUL. 47% of the youth said they used JUUL because their friends used them, 25% because it's less harmful, 29% for the flavors, and 21% for the "buzz".

    Illinois witnessed first death linked to vaping just recently

    In September'18, the Food and Drug Administration described teen vaping as an "epidemic". In August'19, it reported to have received 127 reports of seizures or other neurological symptoms that occurred after vaping between 2010-2019. The World Health Organization also called for research and regulation on e-cigarettes, identifying JUUL. Recently, Illinois witnessed the first death linked to vaping. Surely, India got this ban right.

    Share this timeline
    Facebook
    Whatsapp
    Twitter
    Linkedin
    India
    World Health Organization
    Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

    India

    India records 425 COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths in 24 hours COVID-19
    Weather news: Monsoon likely to be normal, predicts IMD India Meteorological Department (IMD)
    US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit India next week Lloyd Austin
    COVID-19: India registers 490 new cases, 2 deaths COVID-19

    World Health Organization

    COVID-19 still claims one life every four minutes COVID-19
    WHO warns next pandemic could be 'even deadlier' than COVID-19 COVID-19
    Why cough syrup exporters will have to undertake product testing Ministry of Commerce and Industry
    COVID-19 update: India logs 2,961 new cases, 17 deaths COVID-19

    Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

    India reports 535 fresh COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths COVID-19
    COVID-19: India records 552 new cases, 6 deaths COVID-19
    India records 405 COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths in 24 hours COVID-19
    India registers 782 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths COVID-19

    Love Business News?

    Subscribe to stay updated.

    Business Thumbnail
    Indian Premier League (IPL) Celebrity Hollywood Bollywood UEFA Champions League Tennis Football Smartphones Cryptocurrency Upcoming Movies Premier League Cricket News Latest automobiles Latest Cars Upcoming Cars Latest Bikes Upcoming Tablets
    About Us Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Contact Us Ethical Conduct Grievance Redressal News News Archive Topics Archive Download DevBytes Find Cricket Statistics
    Follow us on
    Facebook Twitter Linkedin
    All rights reserved © NewsBytes 2023